GWENT Police is appealing for information after a bank card was stolen and then the victims were tricked into handing over their PIN by someone posing as a bank employee.

A Gwent Police spokesperson said: “We are appealing for information following a theft from Station Road in Chepstow at approximately 5.25pm on Monday 12th September.

“Following this the victim received a call from someone pretending to be from the Barclays Fraud Department, and tricked them into handing over their PIN number.

“Later that day the offender/offenders withdrew money from the stolen cards at a Tesco store in Yate, Bristol and as the CCTV shows, a Travelex Foreign Currency Exchange nearby.

“Officers believe the woman pictured is part of a travelling organised crime gang as the offence was well planned and thought out. They also believe in the picture she is wearing a wig.”

Anyone with any information regarding this incident is encouraged to call 101 quoting log number 392 12/09/2016.

Monmouthshire residents are also being warned about a telephone scam which mimics a phone call from HMRC.

This particular call appears to target areas of the country at a time, and seems to be covering Monmouthshire currently.

The Beacon was warned by a concerned Monmouth resident after he received an ‘intimidating’ automated phone call claiming to be HMRC with an urgent issue, which redirects the recipient to a premium phone line. Victims can rack up large bills through these cons.

News of these scams come as Monmouthshire County Council announces it has joined forces with the Friends Against Scams campaign, an initiative that aims to change the perception of scams and raise awareness of the financial and emotional impact of mass market scamming.

As an official partner, the council has joined the National Trading Standards Scams Team in a national network to protect and prevent people from falling victim to this type of fraud. 

Visit www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk for more information.